Six Egyptian Universities Rank Among World’s Top 1,000 in 2026

Six Egyptian universities have been included in the 2026 Academic Ranking of World Universities, commonly known as the Shanghai Ranking, which assessed more than 2,500 institutions worldwide.

Cairo University ranked highest among Egyptian institutions, placing in the 401–500 band globally. Alexandria University and Mansoura University followed in the 601–700 band, while Ain Shams University and Al-Azhar University ranked in the 701–800 range. Zagazig University placed in the 901–1000 band.

The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research said Cairo University has remained Egypt’s highest-ranked university for the fifth consecutive year.

On the ranking’s research output indicator, Cairo University scored 39.1 points, followed by Mansoura University at 32.9, Alexandria University at 31.9, Ain Shams University at 31.2, Al-Azhar University at 29.2 and Zagazig University at 26.5.

Ain Shams University recorded the strongest growth among Egyptian institutions on the indicator measuring papers published in ‘Nature’ and ‘Science’, while Al-Azhar University nearly doubled its score on the same metric compared with 2023. Alexandria University also recorded comparatively strong performance on the alumni indicator.

The Shanghai Ranking evaluates universities using six indicators, including Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals awarded to alumni and faculty, highly cited researchers, papers published in ‘Nature’ and ‘Science’, research indexed in major international databases and per-capita academic performance.

First published in 2003, the ranking is one of the longest-running global university league tables.